What was the impact of the pandemic on tourism in Franschhoek? It was devastating as the entire economy depends on international and local tourists. The town’s chefs were the true stars of Covid and fed thousands of people daily in poorer and needy communities.
Were there any restaurants that had to close their doors permanently? Sadly, three restaurants/coffee shops had to close.
Franschhoek Tourism was the driving force behind getting locals to vaccinate and did so with great success. How did Franschhoek Tourism go about to encourage residents and what does a high vaccination rate mean to a tourist destination like Franschhoek? It was driven by our tourism office sending the message to all our members, their workers and families. By being vaccinated Franschhoek will be a safe destination for our visitors to return and in doing so workers had to be vaccinated after educating them about benefits and job maintenance and creation in the future. We had the full support from Premier Alan Winde, the Department of Health and Clicks in assisting us with additional vaccination dates in Franschhoek which enabled us to reach our vaccination target.
What are the vaccination statistics for Franschhoek? Franschhoek Wine Valey is over 87% fully vaccinated since our last statistics in December 2021.
Franschhoek is known for hosting some of the best wine festivals, however there are still restrictions in place with regards to the number of people allowed at events. How has this impacted events? We have had only two festivals with reduced numbers but sold out quickly as people are hungry to be outdoors and ready for events again, after the lockdown of two years.
Would you say that people are eager to attend festivals again and how would you rate the attendance of festivals since lockdown? Yes, definitely and attendance levels were at full capacity with reduced numbers as per current numbers allowed for festivals.
Do you see an increase in overseas tourist visiting Franschhoek again? Yes, it increased dramatically overnight as soon as Britain removed SA from the red list. December was exceptionally busy over the Christmas period and full occupancies from local visitors. January, February and March saw occupancies of up to 90% with foreign visitors and almost felt normal again after such a devastating economic impact on our little village.
Many recognise Franschhoek as a tourism destination for overseas visitors. Would you say that South Africans are also eager to visit Franschhoek and how was the support from locals when you could not welcome visitors from other countries? Yes, we owe our local SA visitors a big thank you for supporting Franschhoek during this period. Our targeted and discounted local marketing worked well in bringing feet into our valley. This kept our economy ticking over from Thursdays to Sundays.
Would you say that the Franschhoek Tourism industry has recovered from the huge knock it took with lockdown, the alcohol ban and the curfew that was in place or is the industry on its way to recovery? We have seen a dramatic recovery although not where it was before. The hospitality industry struggled with service delivery due to larger crowds due to the two year absence. Weddings, events/festivals, hearing foreign languages being spoken again in our village is music to our ears.
Do you think the latest Covid-19 regulations regarding venue capacity, vaccinations and the wearing of masks, will have an effect on tourism in Franschhoek? I believe the whole world has learnt that we need to live with Covid and it is evident that vaccinations were successful with lesser hospitalisation and deaths. Obviously full venue capacity will be on our wish list which will further assist on our path to recovery.
What is your view on the future of tourism in Franschhoek? Very positive, as we have galvanised and supported each other during difficult times. Our marketing strategies for other markets, outside our traditional overseas tourists are in place and it is encouraging to see the appointments we have for the Arab States and East Africa as potential new markets. As a Destination Marketing Organisation we like others, need to re-invent, pivot and execute well.
